4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, March 12, 1997 Le EDITORIALS - Citizens should speak about phone tower “+ Before the Dallas Township supervisors enter into an agree- ment to lease township land for construction of a 285-foot tall cellular phone transmission tower, they owe the citizens of the township an opportunity to review the plans and to voice their ~ opinions about the project. If and when they do so, they may find that many people value a relatively uncluttered hilltop over the financial benefits of the lease, or they may not. +. The supervisors appear to have jumped at the chance to pick up a few dollars for the township, giving little or no consider- ation to how the people who live in town feel about such an intrusion on their skyline. But even low-tax advocates might shrink at the thought of a structure the size of a 28- story building thrusting into the sky near the township building. The advantages — car phone calls free of static and income to the township — may be less attractive than preserving what's left of our disappearing country views. “Citizens also should have the opportunity to weigh the value of the lease payments against the loss of use of township land that will be committed for the tower, and other obligations the township may incur in the relationship with Cellular One. “Given the lack of attendance at township meetings, it's possible nearly everyone in the township is content to leave all aspects of their town’s operation in the hands of the supervi- sors. That is a mistake in any community; elected officials need to hear from citizens in order to have a basis on which to make decisions that affect taxes, development and other quality of life issues. There is no legal requirement that officials allow public opinion to sway their decisions in a case like this, but that doesn't prevent the Dallas Township supervisors from going: out of their way to inform people about significant activities that might affect their lives. This surely is one such occasion, and before they sign anything the supervisors should hold a well- promoted meeting to fully inform citizens of all aspects of the proposed agreement. Ready, set, go to an interesting election This election cycle promises to be a lively one in the Back Mountain, particularly in races for seats on the Dallas and Lake-Lehman school boards. In the Dallas district, there will be a choice of candidates for the first time since 1993, when Maureen Banks, Joseph Kunec, Thomas Landon and James Richardson — whose seats are up this year — were elected to the board. The heightened interest has been sparked by several issues that surfaced in the past year or two, among them the high school s switch to “intensified scheduling,” a dispute between a “parent and football coach, and the ongoing discussion of a replacement for the Westmoreland Elementary School. While each of these is important, we trust that the candidates see the prospect of serving on the board as an opportunity to contrib- ute to the overarching goal of any school system — to provide the best education possible for our children. ' Lake-Lehman faces a different set of problems, dominated by the district's weak financial position. The next board will need the wisdom of Solomon combined with a bit of the Midas touch to set the system on firm footing while maintaining the spirit of cooperation between parents, teachers and students that pervades the district. ~The underlying vitality of our democracy derives from com- promise forged out of competing ideals. While elections can become combative and personal — something we hope will be absent here — the alternative of no contending opinions saps the strength of a system that is meant to reflect the majority's preferences, not the dictates of a ruling class. We look forward to a spirited and informative election, and pledge our resources to bringing the candidates’ ideas to readers as fully and fairly as possible. Publisher's notebook * I'm all for the state getting out of the liquor sales business, but let's be honest about it. A report published in the Sunday Times Leader included a price comparison of prices at PLCB stores and privately-owned stores in Maryland and Delaware. So far, so good, except anyone who pays attention to liquor pricing couldn’t help noticing that the prices in the out-of-state stores were so low they must have been special sales. The distortions shouldn't be surprising, since the survey was conducted by a company that operates stores in the other two states. It's probably a safe bet they'd like to have stores in PA, too. Your Sports & News items are welcomed at The Post The Dallas Post Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 717-675-5211 Ronald A. Bartizek Charlotte E. Bartizek PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Dennise Casterline ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Kylie Shafferkoetter REPORTER Paul Rismiller Olga Kostrobala PRODUCTION MANAGER CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING Jill Gruver OFFICE MANAGER ) [PRINTED WITH NIN oh. Mh SOY INK]| ASSOCIATION | PER NEWSPAPER Like ducks, or rather geese, on a pond. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. LETTERS School board should listen to the children Editor: To Ernest Ashbridge and Board Members. Why don’t you call a special meeting and listen to the chil- dren. These are little people that will tell you how they love that school, teachers, they feel secure and happy there. Guest column 15 (SD BY [WE REVI ELS Got the winter blahs? Find yourself walking back and forth in the house, then looking out the windows to see what your neigh- bors are doing? And they're look- ing back at you? Well, have I got the ultimate panacea. Become a volunteer in your community! A long time ago, when I was in high school, a guest speaker atan assembly program said something which I never forgot. He said, “The hardest thing for a young person to learn was which bridges to cross and which to burn!” If you have been wallowing in sloth recently, why not join a ser- vice-oriented organization, such LIBRARY By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Back Mountain Memorial Library is featuring a collection of turtles in the display case at the library. These were borrowed from Laura DeCesaris of Wyoming who is eight years old in third grade at the Dallas Elementary School. Laura came home from the hospi- tal after she was born with a spe- cial newborn hat that had a rib- bon on it covered with turtles. Since then, she has increased her collection with a turtle made from coal, a gift from a visit to the coal mines. There are several stuffed turtles she received as gifts over the years and molded turtles collected from various nature stores on vaca- tion. There are jewelry turtles, gifts from friends and relatives and some mementos from various vacations. There are some sea- shell turtles from Ocean City, New Jersey which were made by a local person from shells from the area. Irealize architects have to make a living, but the school could be remodeled. Let them draw up plans to remodel Westmoreland and stop catering to them and letting them push you into a start- ing date. The children of today don’t have as much stability in their lives as we did, all they ask for is “stay where they are.” Years down the road if there are behavior problems galore you can all blame yourselves, it's a known fact kids love to copy older kids. Nancy Dombroski Yolunteering in community can bring fulfillment as the Lions, the Elks, or the Moose? Or, how about going down to your local library and asking if they could use your help? Do you have a pleasant dispo- sition and find that your very pres- ence makes other people happy? Go to a hospital and offer to help. Just speaking to a depressed or sick patient may be just what that person needs “to make his day.” You may not realize it, but your personality is a gift! When was the last time you gave the gift of life—that is, made a blood donation? Have you ever volunteered your services to church organizations? The La- dies Auxiliary? Drug and Alcohol abuse organizations? Burn those bridges of sloth and boredom and cross over the bridge to community service. If you have been bored, maybe it's because you are boring! Having recently been elected as Mrs. Pennsylvania, I wondered what it was that I could do for my community and people in my state. I decided that I'd become a guide to crossing bridges that led to more active involvement by our citizens in community service. I'd recruit givers! The ultimate givers recently met me at a Veterans’ Hospital in the Lehigh Valley. They were a band of “Purple Heart” veterans whose greetings were so heartfelt by me that I was speechless. These men, who gave so much for their country, were praising the likes of me, when it was I who was in awe of them...and their willingness to continue giving. I will make you a promise: if you become a giver to society, I promise that your life will be ful- filled more abundantly, and you will love crossing the bridge to community service for the rest of your life. A perk: toll free! Turtles on display at library The top of the display is adorned with a large stuffed turtle, which is loved by all who see it, from Disney World in Florida, which came home with Laura. The turtles will be displayed until April 2. New books : “Sole Survivor” by Dean Koontz begins with a cata- strophic, unexplainable plane crash. Three hundred and thirty dead, no survivors. Among the victims, the wife and two young daughters of Los Angeles Post crime reporter Joe Carpenter. A year later, after a year of grief, Joe encounters a woman named Rose who survived the crash, with a secret. “Abuse of Power” by Nancy Tay- lor Rosenberg is the story of a heroic yet vulnerable police of- ficer caught in an agonizing tug- of-war between conscience and career, a most unforgettable and fascinating character. The tale is about law enforcement and those who devote their lives to it. The story is intensely real and terrify- ing of widow Rachel with two chil- dren to raise. “The Partner” by John Grisham is about Danilo Silva who they watched for days before finally grabbing him. He lived alone, a quiet life, in a small town in Brazil in a modest home, certainly not one of luxury. There was no evi- dence of the fortune they thought he had stolen. He was thinner and his face had been altered. Four years earlier, he had been Patrick Lanigan. Honor books added to library collection The Back Mountain Memorial Library announces the addition of Honor Books for 1997: In honor of the Anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Cacozza, July 19 “Miller's Victoriana To Art Deco” presented by Janet Andes and family and Roxann Zurla and family. In honor of Bruce C. and Beth Flannery Rosenthal “The Wired Neighborhood” presented by Joseph and Janice Savitz. In honor of Sally Sieber on her 80th birthday, “Wildflower Folklore” presented by the Friends from St. Paul's Lutheran Church. In honor of Ruby Bulford Elston on her 100th birthday, “Living Faith” presented by Margaret S. Corbett. If you missed The Post - you missed the news! ONLY YESTERDAY 60 Years Ago - Mar. 19, 1937 FERN BROOK PARK GETS LEASED BY NEW YORK CO. One of the most popular re- [sorts in the county, Fern Brook Park which has had several bad years is to be streamlined by Pierre Venner of New York who took a three year lease on the property recently. The addition of new equipment and an elaborate land- scaping plan which will dot the park with flower beds and shrub- bery are a part of the plans of Venner. His last amusement cen- ter was near Poughkeepsie, NY. Aided by mild winter weather, contractors who are relocating a stretch of Rt. 92 preparatory to adding another 3-mile stretch of concrete to the highway, which connects Dallas and Tunkhannock are making rapid progress. With continued good weather the contractors should be far ahead of schedule when the weather permits the laying of con- crete. 50 Years Ago - Mar. 21, 1947 : SCARLET FEVER INNOCULATIONS GIVEN Through the cooperation of Dallas Borough Board of Health, the School Board and other State agencies, . scarlet fever innoculations will be given after the Easter vacation to all stu- dents of Dallas whose parents request them. Innoculations will be given over a five week period and must be continuous. Be- cause of the nature of the innoculations which are given in increasing doses, Mrs. Robert Moore, Sr., School Nurse stresses that any pupil who misses anyone of the innoculations will be un- able to continue with the rest of the program. Alfred Milner Camp, director of music at Lake Township Schools has been appointed music super- visor at Dallas Township Schools and will assume his new duties as! soon as he can be released from his present contract. 40 Years Ago - Mar. 15, 1957 BOARDS VOTE 'NO' TO AREA JOINT SCHOOLS Two school boards, Dallas Bor- ough and Kingston Township: voted in separate actions Wednes-- day evening to withdraw from the Dallas Area Joint Schools at the earliest effective dateJuly 1, 1958 and to start immediately to pro-" mote a Union District comprising of Dallas Township, Dallas Bor: ough and Kingston Township. Action was prompted by the block- ing and delaying tactics employed by Monroe and Franklin Town- ships whose directors have con- tinually thwarted all efforts of Dallas Twp., Dallas Borough and Kingston Twp. to work out an effective school program. Tenants of two properties Nationa Mills and Dallas Shoe Repair, owned by Miner National Bank have been notified to vacate them so that the buildings canbe razed to make way for enlarge- ment and improvement of the Dallas Branch. Work on the new banking structure and adjacent parking is expected to start early in June. 30 Years Ago - Mar. 16, 1967 PROPOSED PROJECT 70 BECOMES AN ISSUE Plagued by rumors, gossip and questions wanting reasonable answers the much debated pro- posed Project 70 Beach Develop- ment at Sunset Area of the new Borough of Harveys Lake became an issue in the primary political campaign this week with the re- lease of a letter by Ray E. Roushey, Republican candidate for Mayor on the Borough Manager Political Committee slate. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Jeffrey, Demunds Road, Dallas, celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary, March 14. The couple are the parents of two children, have six grandchildren and three great- grandchildren. 20 Years Ago - Mar. 17, 1977 LAKE LEHMAN BOARD CONSIDERS SCHOOL SITE A special public meeting, called by the Lake-Lehman School Board will consider plans for new el- ementary school to be located in the Harveys Lake-Noxen vicinity of the school district. According to Director Kenneth Williams, the purpose of the meeting will be to explain to taxpayers the need for a new elementary school and to »btain from citizens suggestions or the building project.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers